La Quercia's Proscuitto Americano Lasagne |
Proscuitto Americano (Images courtesy of La Quercia)
Herb and Kathy Eckhouse founded La Quercia to create premium quality, artisan cured meats in America. Their appreciation for prosciutto grew out of the three and a half years they lived in Parma, Italy, prosciutto's area of origin. Their ambition to create their own delicacies came from a desire to take the bounty that surrounds them in Iowa to its highest expression.
All of the pork they use comes from suppliers who subscribe to humane practices. To Herb and Kathy this means that the animals have access to the out of doors, have room to move around and socially congregate, and root in deep bedding.
Florence Fabricant wrote in the New York Times that Prosciutto Piccante has a “vibrant complexity that makes it excellent on a platter of hors d’oeuvres or in sandwiches.”
Here’s what Herb and Kathy had to say about this unique lasagne recipe:
This is a light, elegant and delicately flavored alternative to traditional Lasagne alla Bolognese. The lasagne layers would be: white sauce and tomato sauce, then pasta, then proscuitto, then ricotta filling then tomato sauce and repeat. Top with white sauce, tomato sauce and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Ingredients for One 9” x 13” Pan
• 3/4 Pound of La Quercia's Prosciutto Piccante, cut into smaller pieces before layering so it’s easier to serve the squares of lasagne
• 12 Strips of lasagne noodles, cooked al dente & thoroughly drained
• Plain pureed tomato sauce (look for Italian or American “cold break” sauce if buying commercially) or use home made, warmed & ready
Ingredients for White Sauce
• 2 Cups milk
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
Preparation of White Sauce
1. Bring milk to scalding point.
2. Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour, stirring constantly. Cook until all incorporated, then add milk very slowly.
3. Add salt and cook stirring over low heat until desired thickness is that of heavy cream.
Ingredients for Ricotta Filling
• 2 Pounds of fresh spinach (or one 10-ounce package of frozen spinach) or equivalent Swiss chard, cooked, with all possible moisture squeezed out and minced very fine
• 3 Cups or more of high quality ricotta
• 1 or 2 eggs
• 1 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano
Preparation of Ricotta Filling
1. Mix ingredients thoroughly, salt and pepper to taste.
Final Preparation & Cooking
1. Place a thin layer of white sauce and tomato sauce on the bottom of an oven proof baking dish then place a layer of the lasagne pasta in the dish.
2. Place a layer of proscuitto over the pasta, then a half to ¾ of an inch of the ricotta filling over the proscuitto and then tomato sauce, then proscuitto, then lasagne pasta, then proscuitto, then ricotta filling, etc. Continue till you fill the pan.
3. Top with a layer of pasta covered with a nice pattern of white sauce and red sauce and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. The dish should be thoroughly hot and slightly golden on top. Enjoy!
Kathy & Herb Eckhouse, Founders of Iowa's La Quercia
To learn more about La Quercia's critically acclaimed, artisan cured meats, click on either of the following:
Comments
Ggaahhh. This sounds de-licious! I had the pleasure of tasting several of La Quercia prosciutto's at a prosciutto and cider tasting class at Slow Food USA. Knocked my socks off on the flavor scale.
Posted by: Stormy | March 20, 2009 02:24 PM